concentration

noun

con·​cen·​tra·​tion ˌkän(t)-sən-ˈtrā-shən 

-ˌsen-

1

a

: the act or process of concentrating : the state of being concentrated

especially : direction of attention to a single object

All that noise is disturbing my concentration.

b

: an academic major or area of focus within a major

The student chose law as his concentration.

2

: a concentrated mass or thing

a concentration of wealth in the merchant class

3

: the amount of a component in a given area or volume

The ozone concentration in the lower stratosphere has declined.

Synonyms

• absorption
• attention
• engrossment
• enthrallment
• immersion

Examples of concentration in a Sentence

All that noise is disturbing my concentration.

The job required her full concentration.

When you're tired it's easy to lose your concentration.

There was a concentration on ethics within the agency.

There is a concentration of wealth in the cities.

He objects to the concentration of power in the hands of a few rich men.

Recent Examples on the Web

The cedar pollen concentration in spring 2023 reached a 10-year high in some parts of Japan. —Michelle Lee, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024

But even with the settlements, there has been contention over the high concentration of factory farms in Kewaunee, and the growing number of private wells impacted by nitrate. —Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024

Zhao was found to be chronically poisoned, with the mercury concentration in his body exceeding 10 times the safe level, the report said. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024

Airborne observations offer important advantages over current survey approaches that typically involve a worker walking across portions of the landfill with a detector logging locations of high surface concentrations of methane. —Aaron Clark, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2024

Climate change could also worsen the issue—researchers found warmer temperatures can lead to higher concentrations of arsenic in rice. —Sarah Garone, Health, 30 Mar. 2024

Culp, who had previously been the CEO of Danaher Corporation, introduced a methodical strategy for streamlining operations and an intense concentration on profit and cash flow to his position at GE. —Jim Osman, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Maintaining a constant condition of high alert drains a military of its readiness, in part by taking a toll on the concentration of personnel. —Andrew Metrick, Foreign Affairs, 28 Mar. 2024

The rules prohibit mergers and other deals that increase concentration in highly concentrated markets or eliminate competition; the agencies have blocked other recent mergers between health systems in other states. —Detroit Free Press, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see concentrate entry 1

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing concentration

• hyper-concentration
• concentration camp

Kids Definition

concentration

noun

con·​cen·​tra·​tion ˌkän(t)-sən-ˈtrā-shən 

-sen-

1

: the act or process of concentrating : the state of being concentrated

especially : direction of attention on a single object

don't disturb my concentration

2

: a concentrated mass

3

: the amount of an ingredient or part in relation to that of others : strength

the concentration of salt in a solution

Medical Definition

concentration

noun

con·​cen·​tra·​tion ˌkän(t)-sən-ˈtrā-shən, -ˌsen- 

1

: the act or action of concentrating: as

a

: a directing of the attention or of the mental faculties toward a single object

b

: an increasing of strength (as of a solute or a gas in a mixture) or a purifying by partial or total removal of diluents, solvents, admixed gases, extraneous material, or waste (as by evaporation or diffusion)

2

: a crude active principle of a vegetable especially for pharmaceutical use in the form of a powder or resin

3

: the relative content of a component (as dissolved or dispersed material) of a solution, mixture, or dispersion that may be expressed in percentage by weight or by volume, in parts per million, or in grams per liter